HailRobonia:atomicmask: Why do such stupid pointless rolls exist? Diversity officer...what does that even do exactly?

Diversity is an essential value that is of vital importance to modern society. So we should all pretend to care about it.

It is counter productive to modern society. It is the inclusion of people who do not hold the same values as us, a muddling and deconstructing of ethical ways until no way works, a government of two headed asses in a game of tug of war, when one side gains a little leverage and stops to rest the other side pulls it right back to the starting line. This is all diversity does for us. It creates a detriment of the lowest common denominator that slags down the most excellent to meet quotas.

Kunochan:Blacks spent centuries cultivating themselves as America's underclass. They've put a lot of time and effort ino [sic] getting to the front of the victimhood line and the sweet, sweet rewards that position brings like welfare checks, affirmative action hiring and Obamaphones.

"Hey Mbutu!""Yes, Nkele?""I have a great idea!""What?""Let's get hit over the head and kidnapped by those white folks. They can drag us to their ship and take us to America. You'll die horribly on the way over. And I'll be enslaved, forced to do harsh manual labor, have my culture and religion ripped from me, and lose my children.""Why would we do that?""So in 300 years, our descendants can get free phones!""Score!"

/I know. Don't feed the troll.

You do realize more were sold into slavery by other black tribes than were "netted" by evil white people right? But then that would not fit into your hate whitey monologue.

Why would a "chief diversity officer" be concerned with an aspect of homosexuality outside of academia? Her job should be ensuring that people of all colors, orientation, etc. get a fair shot at a good education - not whether or not the people of the state let gays marry.

I'm in a pissy mood, so let me say fark you very much to the God Botherers and Jesus Freaks who seem hell-bent in turning the United States into some backwards backwater full of Wal-Marts and strip-mall churches. Fark you and the horse you rode in on. Fark you and your bullshiat theology. And furthermore, eat a bowl of farking dicks and farking die in a fire.

Dr Dreidel:Cybernetic: Lumpmoose: Cybernetic: One of the inherent contradictions of the "diversity" movement is that it has no tolerance for diversity of opinion.

Would you say the same if she were a member of the KKK or petitioning to remove rights of Jews to marry in their own synagogues? There's a difference between tolerating diversity of opinion and tolerating intolerance.

I think that other people have the right to hold beliefs that I disagree with, and advocate for those beliefs. If those beliefs are truly stupid, then their advocacy will have the opposite effect of what they intend: that of publicizing the idiocy of their beliefs (see also: Westboro Baptist Church).

As there are no longer secular arguments against marriage equality, homophobia is approaching the dustbin of history. I don't think the university should boot her but I respect their desire to be ahead of the curve of what's considered closed-minded in society.

So then the position of Chief Diversity Officer should require that applicants hold a certain set of pre-approved beliefs, and the university should state that up front. Which would again highlight the inherent contradiction of "Diversity"--that there is actually a rigid orthodoxy of thought against which one rebels at one's own risk.

The only "prerequisite" is that you're open to the ideas of others and don't seek to deny them fundamental rights just because of who they express those rights with.

// I have no problem with her signing a petition, but it absolutely gives her employer enough reason to suspect she can't or won't do the job they want her to do// was once fired - legally - because my employer disagreed with how I did my job// none of my users complained, they just needed a reason to can me

You just made my point for me. Your "too accepting/not accepting enough" criterion is the same as my statement that you have to hold a certain set of pre-approved beliefs to qualify for that job. And the university may be well within its rights to fire her, and she may, objectively, be a bad fit for a position that is inherently political (which any "diversity" position is).

The fact that the university wouldn't make that clear up front (i.e. before she took the job) is an excellent example of the disingenuousness inherent in the term "diversity", which is just a fig leaf for political correctness--a term that fell out of favor when people started to get uncomfortable with the concept of an orthodoxy of ideas enforced by a self-appointed thought police.

If that's the way that the university wants to run their show, they are certainly entitled to do so. But they should have the courage to call the job what it is--a Chief Political Officer, or a Chief Orthodoxy Officer. Or maybe just call it Chief Commisar.

roadmarks:Free speech includes political speech, and it most definitely includes that speech which we find hateful. I think that petition is hateful - but she had every right in the world to sign it.

If I were in the University I would be taking a good hard look at her record at work, but if she didn't act inappropriately there - REINSTATE HER WITH ALL BACK PAY.

And this is from a libby libby lib that recently benefited from the marriage equality law passing in NY.

/love ya Labgrrl

Yes, but Free Speech does not mean Free From Consequences. If she's intolerant of same-sex marriage, the university may decide that she's not suited for her position. She's free to male her statement; the university's free to replace her.

While there are probably some legitimate racists here, I think it's perfectly valid to point out the hypocrisy in a black deaf woman, someone who has probably benefited enormously from all kinds of affirmative action/diversity scholarships and perks (based on both race and disability), actively fighting for inequality. The fact that it's her JOB to encourage equality and value people for their difference makes that hypocrisy much more pronounced.

theorellior:I'm in a pissy mood, so let me say fark you very much to the God Botherers and Jesus Freaks who seem hell-bent in turning the United States into some backwards backwater full of Wal-Marts and strip-mall churches. Fark you and the horse you rode in on. Fark you and your bullshiat theology. And furthermore, eat a bowl of farking dicks and farking die in a fire.

Conservatives believe job positions that only have value in a liberal reality should be filled with people who hold values opposite to the job's mission, to intentionally incapacitate what the job is meant to do. For example, Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton.

little big man:Why would a "chief diversity officer" be concerned with an aspect of homosexuality outside of academia? Her job should be ensuring that people of all colors, orientation, etc. get a fair shot at a good education - not whether or not the people of the state let gays marry.

Take that, free speech.

I agree, I think. The same as a gay judge can fairly rule on prop 8, a person can put aside their personal conflicts of interest for their professional lives. Without proof of that I can hardly see wrongdoing, just bad judgment

Diogenes:Gallaudet is an interesting place. I had a three month consulting gig there. It was very enlightening. I was surprised to learn of all the intolerances that existed between different types of deaf people. People who were born deaf sometimes looked down on those who weren't. Kids with cochlear implants were referred to as "refrigerator magnets." .

Wow. I think that's kind of farked up. I've only known a few deaf people. I always felt kind of sorry for them, but I guess they can be assholes too. Having a disability apparently doesn't mean you have any tolerance for other people.

I don't think she should lose her job or anything. Is her job exclusively dedicated to diversity at the school? I would just change her responsibilities.

Gallaudet is an interesting place. I had a three month consulting gig there. It was very enlightening. I was surprised to learn of all the intolerances that existed between different types of deaf people. People who were born deaf sometimes looked down on those who weren't. Kids with cochlear implants were referred to as "refrigerator magnets." Then there's the Bell Society which places a high importance on deaf people learning to speak.

As someone who doesn't know how to sign, it gave me an appreciation for what it must be like for a deaf person to operate in the hearing world. How do you tell someone how you want your hair cut? As I struggled to learn some ASL to get around easier I constantly embarrassed myself by resorting to reflexive pantomime when doing something as simple as trying to order a sandwich at the student center.

Dr. Angela McCaskill signed the petition at her church after her preacher spoke against gay marriage, the Planet DeafQueer blog reported on Monday, citing a Gallaudet faculty member who first spotted the administrator's name on the document.